“These results are really exciting. This could be a new front in the fight against MS.”
Researchers at Oregon Health & Science University have discovered that an antioxidant designed by scientists more than a dozen years ago to fight damage within human cells significantly helps symptoms in mice that have a multiple sclerosis-like disease.
The antioxidant — called MitoQ — has shown some promise in fighting neurodegenerative diseases. But this is the first time it has been shown to significantly reverse an MS-like disease in an animal.
The discovery could lead to an entirely new way to treat multiple sclerosis, which affects more than 2.3 million people worldwide.
Multiple sclerosis occurs when the body’s immune system attacks the myelin, or the protective sheath, surrounding nerve fibers of the central nervous system. Some underlying nerve fibers are destroyed. Resulting symptoms can include blurred vision and blindness, loss of balance, slurred speech, tremors, numbness and problems with memory and concentration.
The antioxidant research was published in the December edition of Biochimica et Biophysica Acta Molecular Basis of Disease. The research team was led by P. Hemachandra Reddy, Ph.D., an associate scientist in the Division of Neuroscience at OHSU’s Oregon National Primate Research Center.
To conduct their study, the researchers induced mice to contract a disease called experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis, or EAE, which is very similar to MS in humans. They separated mice into four groups: a group with EAE only; a group that was given the EAE, then treated with the MitoQ; a third group that was given the MitoQ first, then given the EAE; and a fourth “control” group of mice without EAE and without any other treatment.
After 14 days, the EAE mice that had been treated with the MitoQ exhibited reduced inflammatory markers and increased neuronal activity in the spinal cord — an affected brain region in MS — that showed their EAE symptoms were being improved by the treatment. The mice also showed reduced loss of axons, or nerve fibers and reduced neurological disabilities associated with the EAE. The mice that had been pre-treated with the MitoQ showed the least problems. The mice that had been treated with MitoQ after EAE also showed many fewer problems than mice who were just induced to get the EAE and then given no treatment.
“The MitoQ also significantly reduced inflammation of the neurons and reduced demyelination,” Reddy said. “These results are really exciting. This could be a new front in the fight against MS.”
Even if the treatment continues to show promise, testing in humans would be years away. The next steps for Reddy’s team will be to understand the mechanisms of MitoQ neuroprotection in different regions of the brain, and how MitoQ protects mitochondria within the brain cells of the EAE mice. Mitochondria, components within all human cells, convert energy into forms that are usable by the cell.
There is a built-in advantage with MitoQ. Unlike many new drugs, MitoQ has been tested for safety in numerous clinical trails with humans. Since its development in the late 1990s, researchers have tested MitoQ’s ability to decrease oxidative damage in mitochondria.
The Latest on: Multiple sclerosis
[google_news title=”” keyword=”Multiple sclerosis” num_posts=”10″ blurb_length=”0″ show_thumb=”left”]
via Google News
The Latest on: Multiple sclerosis
- Ingham takes steps for local mum living with multiple sclerosison May 10, 2024 at 12:59 pm
One mother's diagnosis, quickly turned into an entire town rallying to raise funding and awareness for multiple sclerosis.
- 9 celebrities with multiple sclerosis who have opened up about the diseaseon May 10, 2024 at 10:30 am
Christina Applegate and Jamie-Lynn Sigler are two public figures spreading MS awareness by sharing their stories.
- Obesity Drugs and Multiple Sclerosison May 9, 2024 at 11:45 am
What Does Obesity Have to Do With MS? It may seem odd that I’d be writing about anti-obesity medications in the Life With Multiple Sclerosis column. Fair enough. There are, however, numerous studies ...
- Multiple Sclerosis Diagnoses Are Rising—And Doctors Don’t Know Whyon May 9, 2024 at 2:00 am
Price was referred to another eye specialist, then to a neuro ophthalmologist. After what felt like a never-ending six-hour wait inside a neurologist’s office the following Tuesday, she got a two-word ...
- AAN 2024: Exploring New Horizons in Relapsing-Remitting Multiple Sclerosis Treatmenton May 8, 2024 at 5:00 pm
Michael Sy, MD, PhD, shares reflections on highlights from AAN 2024, signaling promising avenues in RRMS treatment.
- Multiple Sclerosis Highlights From AAN 2024on May 7, 2024 at 1:55 pm
Highlights in relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis from AAN 2024 include pregnancy-related considerations, anti-CD20 drug-associated infection, and ocrelizumab safety in Black and Hispanic persons.
- Researchers find B cells drive responses of other immune cells, can be modified to prevent multiple sclerosis symptomson May 6, 2024 at 6:30 am
B cells can control responses of myeloid cells through the release of particular cytokines (small proteins that control the growth and activity of cells in the immune system), disproving the previous ...
- There’s comfort in putting a name to a multiple sclerosis symptomon May 1, 2024 at 10:00 pm
Faced with a new cognitive symptom of multiple sclerosis, columnist Ben Hofmeister is relieved to find a possible explanation: jamais vu.
- Finley siblings share their fight against Multiple Sclerosis, encourages people to get checkedon April 30, 2024 at 7:33 am
According to the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, almost one million Americans live with Multiple Sclerosis (MS), an auto-immune condition that affects the central nervous system. According to ...
- ‘Liquid gold’ could bring new hope to multiple sclerosis patients, study suggests: ‘Profound benefit’on April 30, 2024 at 2:30 am
An experimental medication called CNM-Au8 — a drinkable liquid with gold nanocrystals — has shown promising results in clinical trials for improving MS symptoms. Doctors and researchers weighed in.
via Bing News